ROME, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Italian opera singing has been recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the organization said on Wednesday.
The announcement immediately made headlines in Italy. The country's most widely circulated newspaper Corriere della Sera wrote that "It took more than 400 years, but today Italian opera singing will have its official coronation."
State broadcaster RAI noted that Wednesday's recognition was the culmination of a 12-year process that began when opera singers united to attract recognition to the art form.
Italy first applied for UNESCO recognition for opera singing last year, when the country's UNESCO committee submitted a bid for it to be considered for the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity status this year.
In its announcement of the decision, UNESCO described Italian opera as "a physiologically controlled way of singing that enhances the carrying power of the voice in acoustic spaces such as auditoriums, amphitheaters, arenas and churches."
Opera, UNESCO said, "promotes collective cohesion and sociocultural memory, and is closely linked with other cultural elements, such as acoustic places and poetry."
The earliest surviving opera in Italy dates from around 1600, when a special academy was founded in Florence to promote a newly popular way to combine music and dialogue. Since then, opera singing has evolved and spread around the world.
Wednesday's announcement was made during the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage taking place in Botswana.
